


Borderline

by Anarik



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awesome Lydia Martin, Bisexual Derek Hale, Bisexual Stiles Stilinski, Denial of Feelings, Derek Hale is Good at Feelings, Derek Hale is a Softie, Domestic Fluff, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Lydia Martin Is So Done, M/M, Minor Scott McCall/Malia Tate, Past Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Past Relationship(s), Past Stiles Stilinski/Malia Tate, Stiles Stilinski is Good at Feelings, Talking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Weddings, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 14:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anarik/pseuds/Anarik
Summary: It starts with Stiles finding Derek in the Frozen Food aisle. It sort of escalates from there.





	Borderline

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, I'm sorry if there's any mistake, if you could point that out for me, I'll edit the chapter. Thank you!
> 
> Teen Wolf does not belong to me.

Stiles finds Derek in the Frozen Foods aisle, looking like he can’t decide whether to pick mozzarella sticks or frozen pizza. Stiles walks right to him, settles beside him, looks at the products on Derek’s hands for a minute and takes the mozzarella sticks, throwing them into Derek’s basket.

“Less chemicals in your mouth,” he says, and waggles his own basket.

“What are you buying?” Derek asks, putting the frozen pizza back into the shelf with a nod.

“Snacks. Scott and I are due to have a movie night at my place and I had a little time after work to get them. And you?”

“Grocery shopping.”

“That seems painfully low on groceries for that shopping.”

“I don’t need much.”

“If you say so.”

They both walk together while picking stuff, making small chat as the go until Stiles’ phone sounds on his pocket, announcing a text.

“Aaaaand. That was Scott cancelling on me again because of Malia.” Stiles says after reading the text, showing Derek his screen.

_Scotty Boy: Malia wts 2 tlk!!!! YAAAAAAAY!!!!_

“That seems painfully awful to read. And has a lot of exclamation points.” Derek comments after reading the text.

“That’s how he writes his texts. Sometimes I’m not sure if I’m friends with a high schooler or a well-known, town-respected vet.”

“He doesn’t text to me like that.”

“Because he knows you don’t like it. He texts to me like that because I’ll understand what he means _and_ taunt him about it.”

“That seems like a masochist reason.”

“It is. Don’t know why you’re surprised.” Derek tilts his head to his left side and then half shrugs, all the while another text comes. “I swear to god; these texts look so much like the ones he sent me the first time he and Allison broke up. And we both know how that went down.” Stiles comments and watches Derek lift his eyebrows, like he’s not sure how to take that comment. “Wow. I just made a joke about a dead person, that I killed, nonetheless. Awesome.”

“You didn’t kill Allison. It was the Nogitsune.”

“The Nogitsune, who was wearing my face and I still saw it. From the outside, but it still looked like me and my hands… Anyway! I was referring to the amount of times those two broke up and got back together. Well, until Allison let Isaac in… oh my god. I’m on a roll today. Please stop me from talking.”

“Why do you say the messages look alike?” Derek asks after snorting.

“Dude, I can trace these messages back to my high school days and I swear that the only difference would be the name and the date.”

“That’s creepy.”

“Totally.”

They get to the register and they both keep talking while waiting for their turn, until Stiles stops and looks at his basket.

“Wanna come over and watch a movie with me? I just realized that if Scott cancelled on me I don’t have a reason to buy all this, but I’m already on the line…”

“What movie are we watching?”

“I swear is a good one!” Derek lifts his eyebrows and Stiles shrugs noncommittally. “I guess you’ll just have to wait until you get to my place. 7:30, and bring pizza.”

“I thought with the snacks was enough.”

“Please, as if you weren’t enough to down all this and still be hungry…” Stiles looks around and the elder woman beside him is looking at him disapprovingly. “I mean the snacks!” and that causes Derek to snort. “Yeah, laugh all you want. 7:30. My place. Pizza.”

*

“So, what are we watching tonight?” Stiles says once Derek opens the door. He’s balancing two pizza boxes on one hand, and a six pack on the other.

“Well, since we already finished Pixar, we should start on Disney.” He says as he takes the two pizza boxes out of Stiles’ hands

“Yes! Oh my god, I knew there was a reason I liked you. We’re gonna have so much fun watching Disney movies!”

“Who’d have thought. A 30-year-old and a 25-year-old watching Disney movies, excited.”

“Hey, don’t trash talk Disney. Disney is for all ages.”

“Right.”

“Puh-lease! You’re gonna tell me you’re not going to cry with The Lion King?” Stiles settles himself on the couch before opening one of the beer cans.

“Haven’t watched it.”

“ _What!?_ We’re so going to start on that one. Bring the tissues!”

*

Stiles is just finishing his shift when he spots Scott outside the Police Department building. He’s pacing and looking inside with wide, puppy eyes and Stiles can’t actually feel angry with the guy for standing him up more than twice in one week.  He sighs, grabs his gun and exits the building, knowing Scott will hear him.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“I want to ask Malia to marry me.” Scott answers hurriedly.

“Dude! That’s awesome!”

“You think so?”

“Of course! Do you have any idea about how you want to do it?”

“Not. A. Single. Clue. I’m freaking out!” Scott grabs his hair with his hands and walks to the Jeep with Stiles.

“Bro, calm down. I’ll do research creative ways to propose and then you decide if you like one of those.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know. You bought the ring yet?”

“Yeah…” Scott searches on his pocket and comes up with a blue, velvety ring box. “It’s white gold, because you know how we get around silver.”

“That’s the running joke, yeah.”

“And I thought she wouldn’t want something that pops up out of the ring, because she likes to fight with her own hands, so I bought it plane and shaped like a normal ring… Do you think she’ll like it?”

“Dude, it’s so beautiful! Of course, she will! Now _I_ want to marry you.”

“Not possible. We haven’t been in a relationship for that long.”

“We’ve been in a relationship since we met.”

“Not long enough for marriage.”

“You want me to beg you?”

“Yes. Because you’ve been spending time with Derek and not with me. Marry him.”

“Scott, we’ve talked about this. You’re the only one I love.”

“Keep telling yourself that while you cheat on me with Derek.”

“Don’t be such a jealous boyfriend. I love you and only you.”

“I want further prove.”

“What do you want?” Stiles asks, parking outside of Scott’s apartment building.

“Let’s have a game night this Friday.”

“Can’t. Derek and I are watching a movie.” Stiles answers almost mechanically.

“Ha! Go marry Derek.”

“Shut up.”

*

**_Stiles: hey! Wanna grab a cup of coffee?_ **

_Der: sure. Where?_

**_Stiles: I’m at Lawrence, in Main Street. Caramel macchiato with a double shot of expresso?_ **

_Der: yeah. Be there in five._

Stiles checks the time before blocking his phone and standing up to walk to the counter. The barista looks at him with a smile and grabs a cup while starting to write his name.

“Hey, Lisa. Can you give me a caramel macchiato with a double shot of expresso?”

“Sure. Though, that’s not your usual order.”

“It’s not for me.”

She gives him a smirk and a knowing wink before turning her back on him and starting on the coffee. The doorbell sounds, and Stiles turns around to see Derek entering. He’s wearing his trademark leather jacket, the one he hasn’t seen since… Erica and Boyd?

“Wow, that brings so many memories.”

“Good ones, I hope.” Derek says, smirking at him.

“Sure. Late night escapades with your local bad boy are good memories.” He answers with a laugh.

“Aw, you make it sound like we were sneaking out to see each other.”

“Weren’t we doing that?”

Lisa comes back with the cup and she raises her eyebrows at Stiles, letting out a little ‘oh’ when she sees he handles the hot coffee cup to Derek.

“Thanks, Lisa.”

“You’re welcome, Stiles…”

They go back sitting at the table Stiles was. The whole thing is full of papers and files, his laptop announcing it needs to connect the charger in less than five minutes, otherwise it will shut down.

“Damn it! I didn’t bring my charger!” Stiles says while looking inside his backpack. He sighs in defeat and then turns off the laptop.

“What are you working on?”

“Just this case Parrish gave me. It’s not even that hard. I already know who the killer is.”

“But…”

“But, I don’t have any prove. This woman is really good at covering her tracks. It’s nearly impossible for me to track her down to the crime scene.”

“Hmm… I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You always do. But, since your laptop is dead, wanna come with me to the cemetery? I want to visit Erica and Boyd.”

“Sure, yeah. We can visit Allison too. I haven’t been there in a while. We should stop by a flower shop and bring them some.”

“Aconite?”

“Yup.”

*

“So, did I tell you that Scott wants to ask Malia to marry him?” Stiles asks once they’re entering the cemetery.

“Really? Go him.”

“I know, right? The ring is beautiful. I’m on charge of helping him plan the proposal.”

“Any ideas?”

“Nope. Internet isn’t helpful at all, as you can imagine. All these ideas are so cliched that I just want to bang my head with my keyboard.”

“You should ask Lydia. She’s known for planning things better than anyone. I’m sure she’ll have an opinion about this.”

“I wanted to, but Scott strictly said that I couldn’t call her to ask for help because then she would tell Malia. Like Lydia is going to ruin the surprise. He underestimates her.”

“That is true. I can imagine Lydia preparing the wedding all by herself, all the while writing a project worth a Nobel, or something.”

“Field’s medal.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s the name of the prize in Mathematics. I made the same mistake once, she corrected me.”

“Of course, she did.”

*

“So, what about a bunch of drawings over your apartment, like putting some important memories to paper, like the time you helped her get back from being a coyote, and stuff like that. And at the end is the question.”

“I don’t know how to draw, Stiles.”

“Doesn’t have to be you who draws it.”

“She would know.”

“Then phrases. Lots of phrases organized. Something meaningful for the both of you.”

“Phrases could do…”

“Yes!”

*

Stiles opens the door to Derek’s apartment, leaving some grocery bags on the counter and making his way to the kitchen to organize them and put some aside for dinner. He knows Derek won’t be home for another hour at least, pretty much because he’s helping Scott stablish a pact between two packs.

“And Peter is with them, god…” he murmurs to himself while putting the milk carton inside the fridge.

His phone rings, Trust by Christina Perri playing high, announcing that Lydia’s calling.

“Hey, Lyds.”

“Please tell me you know what Malia’s favorite flower is.” She says, her tone exasperated.

“I don’t think she has one.”

“Favorite food?”

“Deer.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Ugh!” there’s some rustling and Stiles is absolutely sure she’s messing with her hair. “Why is it so hard to plan this wedding!? She’s so difficult!”

“Maybe because she pretty much grew up in the woods? You should theme it like that, small, rustic wedding with blue and red flowers to symbolize their eyes, and deer in the buffet.” He says sarcastically, putting some bowls out.

“Hmm.” She actually sounds like she’s considering it. “You do have a point.”

“I was joking.”

“But no deer in the buffet.”

“I was _joking_!” he repeats, turning around so he can rest his body on the counter.

“I know you were, but it is an excellent idea.” She says, and he sighs, rubbing his hands on his face. “Do you know if Peter or Mr. Tate will escort Malia down the aisle?”

“Not a single clue. Why don’t you ask Malia? I mean, she should know this stuff…”

“She won’t answer my calls.”

“I’ll ask around and get back to you, ok?”

“Thanks, Stiles. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“One more thing.”

“Shoot.”

“Ask Derek if we can have the ceremony and the party in the Preserve.”

“Sure, I’ll ask when he comes home.”

“… ok.” And after that, she hangs up.

He looks at his phone for a minute and shrugs, not giving it importance. He decides to start making dinner since Derek will be back soon, and takes the ground beef out of the freezer. He puts some salt, pepper, cumin and saffron on it and mixes it all. Aside, he takes a pan and puts it on the stove, pouring some olive oil on it and letting it get hot. He chops onions and peppers and pours them on the pan, stir-frying them. When they’re ready, he transfers them on the beef and mixes them all together. After that, he breaks one egg and pours it on the beef, mixing again. When he’s making the beef balls, he hears the door open.

“Oh, god. You’re cooking.” Derek’s voice sounds pleased from the door.

“I am.”

“What are you making?”

“Burgers.”

“From scratch?”

“Yup.”

“I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” Derek says, entering the kitchen and sitting on one of the stools.

“I thought it was for my company!” Stiles fake gasps as he puts one of the beef balls on the pan, flatting it until there’s a patty.

“Nope, it’s for your cooking.”

“I feel so used right now.”

Derek laughs, throwing his head back and opening his mouth, letting the burst of laughter come loud and happy. He even wipes tears from his eyes before looking at Stiles again.

“Lydia called today.” Stiles says, flipping the patty. “She wants to know if you’ll let her organize the wedding in the Preserve.”

“Sure, why now? There’s plenty space to run after.”

“I’ll tell her that. How was the other pack?”

“Tiresome. It was one of those who likes to have control about everything. Even though this is our territory. And Peter was exasperating as always.”

“Now more that Scott will officially become part of his family.”

“Don’t remind me that. There were so many jokes and innuendos in the first hour, I don’t know how Scott made it through the whole thing.”

“Patience, my friend. It’s all about patience and deep breathing.”

“There was a lot of deep breathing, alright.”

They stay silent, Derek watching as Stiles chops the vegetables while the patties cook in the pan, and then assembling them on the plates. He stands up and walks to the freezer, taking two cans of coke and one of the plates, then walking to the living room.

“What are we watching today?” Stiles asks, sitting beside him with his plate. “It’s your turn to pick.”

“I was thinking _American Beauty_. Though, _Black Swan_ is in my mind too.”

“ _Black Swan._ Please. Natalie Portman’s performance was really on point on that one.”

“ _Black Swan_ it is.”

They’re in the middle of the movie when Stiles gets up to get two more cans of coke, and then comes back with a frown. Derek pauses the movie and looks at him with his head tilted to the side.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“What’s weird?”

“How easy is for us to hang out. Like, if someone’d told me that when I was still in high school, I would have laugh so hard, you probably would have threated me to rip my throat out with your teeth if I didn’t shut up. Shouldn’t it be awkward or something?”

Derek shrugs and looks at him in wonder. “Since when our lives have been anything but awkward or weird since Scott got bitten?”

Stiles snorts at that, then he smirks. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m probably thinking too much to it. Let’s go back to Natalie Portman!”

*

**_Stiles: hey Lyds. Derek says it’s fine. And Malia says that she wants both of them walking her down the aisle_ **

_Queen L: thanks, Stiles. I knew I could count on you._

**_Stiles: stop it. You’re making me blush_ **

_Queen L: don’t be an idiot._

Stiles chuckles at the message and puts his phone on his pocket. When he does so, Scott enters the diner and walks directly to him, an overwhelmed and scared look on his face.

“Dude, Lydia’s making me crazy.” Stiles chuckles at that and Scott narrows his eyes. “Don’t be an ass. She’s going to plan your wedding too, and you’ll _know_.”

“If I ever get married.” Stiles answers with a smirk. “I need a partner for that, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship since Lydia.”

“You had flings. There are some studies that say that you meet the person you’re gonna marry before you turn 20. Who knows.”

“Yeah, well. All the persons I met before 20 are either dead or in a relationship.”

“There’s always Kira.” Scott suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up, dude. I love her like a sister.”

“Isaac.”

“He’s the one for Cora.”

“Derek.”

“He’s my bro. It’s like marrying you.”

“You thought about it.”

“When we were nine!”

Scott laughs and then grabs his coat. “Come on. We have some serious groom-best man things to do.”

*

Stiles walks directly to the table Derek is sitting, nursing a glass of whiskey as he watches everyone dance.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” he asks when he sits.

“Cora’s dancing with Scott. You?”

“Lydia’s dancing with Jackson.” Stiles answers with a snort. “How sad it is that you came with your sister and I came with my ex?”

Derek half shrugs and continues drinking. They both watch as Malia and Scott return to each other after having a lot of dancing partners. Some people keep dancing around them, others sit and watch, and others go to the buffet table.

“Hey, isn’t that Isaac? Talking with Cora?” Stiles asks, wonder in his tone.

“Don’t say it.” Derek mutters, exasperated.

“They seem like a good couple.”

“You said it.” Derek closes his eyes, sighs and denies with his head before turning to a smirking Stiles. “I threatened him once. I could do it again.”

“Come on. Let your little sister have some fun! She’ll go back to Argentina, he’ll go back to France. It’s just for tonight.” Stiles says, bumping their shoulders together.

“If I end up with another addition to my family, I’m blaming you.”

“The more, the merrier!” Stiles almost yells, as he quickly gets up, laughing at Derek’s snarl. “Come on! The best man needs to dance with the bride!”

*

A few months after the wedding, Stiles gets a group text from Malia, asking him and Lydia to meet her at a diner. When he gets there, Lydia is sitting, drinking her black coffee and staring at her phone with interest.

“Anything interesting?” he asks once he sits.

“Nothing much. Ignoring a couple of text from guys. You know, the usual.” She answers, putting her phone down and looking at him. “How are you? Anything new?”

“Not really. Everything seems pretty quiet, so there’s not a lot of cases. I’m sleeping more too.”

“That’s good. I don’t remember the last time I saw you sleeping.”

“Probably high school…” he answers thoughtfully. “I went to visit Erica, Boyd and Allison a couple of months ago.”

“Really? Did you go alone?”

“No, I went with Derek. Left a couple of aconite bouquets there.”

“You’re spending a lot of time with Derek…” she says, and he recognizes her suspicious tone. He narrows his eyes at her and she just shrugs.

“Well, Derek is a fun guy when you get to know him. Lots of dark sense of humor, good movies to pick-”

“His face isn’t painful to look at…” she interrupts.

“His face isn’t... Well, yeah, that’s a plus, I mean. But that’s not the reason I hang out with him. He’s a good friend. We’ve bonded.”

“I’m sure you have,” and before he gets a chance to ask what she means, Malia enters the diner and ignores the waitress that comes to greet her, walking directly to them with a big smile on her face. “Hey, Malia.”

“Hello!” she sounds chipper than usual too.

“So, what do you have to tell us?” Stiles asks, looking at her with a smile, not as big as hers, but definitely there.

“Can’t you tell?” she asks, and she almost sounds disappointed.

“Sweetie, we’re both humans. Well, a human and a being who predicts death. We don’t have werewolf powers.”

“Oh, but I’ve read that it shows on your face and you body, and everyone can tell…” she murmurs with a sad tone, looking at her hands and playing with her ring.

Stiles and Lydia look at each other for a minute, frown on their faces as they have a silent conversation about where this is going. Then, light comes through Lydia’s face, and soon enough Stiles’: “You’re pregnant!?” they ask at the same time.

“Yeah!” Malia answers with a big smile, nodding cheerfully at them.

“Oh, my god! What did Scott say!? Did he faint? I bet he fainted.”

“I haven’t told him yet. He said he smelled something weird in me and I went to Deaton to ask, he said that I should go to a hospital and explain that I was feeling odd and they confirmed it! I’m three weeks and a half!”

“Oh! Congratulations, Malia!” Lydia says, standing up and wrapping her friend in a big hug. “Come on, Stiles! Group hug!”

Stiles stands up and hugs them both with a lot of unnecessary force, at what Malia responds with more force whatsoever, leaving Lydia with no air to breath. They chat for a while, and after ordering, Stiles grabs his phone and realizes he has messages waiting for him.

**_Cora: hey, looser. Derek asks if you’re coming to have dinner with us tonight. He wants to kill Isaac and you at the moment, so I expect you to be here because I’m not letting my brother kill my kinda-boyfriend._ **

Stiles chuckles and types a quick _I’ll be there_ to her, and raises his head to realize Malia and Lydia are starring at him.

“What?”

“Who you’re texting all smiles?” Lydia asks, tone ever so teasing.

“I’m not smiling.” Stiles answers, almost pouting.

“You totally were. Tell us.”

“It’s just Cora telling me that I’m supposed to be at Derek’s apartment tonight for dinner because she doesn’t want him to kill Isaac, so he can kill me instead.”

They look at him with their eyebrows raised, and then Malia breaks into a smirk. “Stop flirting with my cousin.”

“I’m not flirting with Cora. Isaac would kill me. Or worse, _she_ would kill me.”

“I’m not talking about Cora.”

“I’m not flirting with Derek either! We weren’t even talking!”

“We’ve seen the two of you. There’s totally flirting.” Lydia says, and Stiles gasps exaggeratedly.

“And sexual tension.”

“That too.”

“There’s no flirting or sexual tension going on between Derek and I!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart.” Lydia says, patting his cheek and turning the conversation again to Malia’s pregnancy.

 _Flirting and sexual tension, my ass_.

*

Someone knocks at Stiles apartment at 7:43 p.m., and Stiles frowns. Derek is not coming, he texted him saying so because he’s going to spend time with Cora and Isaac, and Peter too, though he was very reluctant about it. Plus, Derek has his key. So, Stiles walks carefully to the door because usually his friends tell him when they’re coming. He looks through the peephole and sees an anxious looking Scott.

“Dude, what? Shouldn’t you be with your mom?” Stiles asks as he opens the door.

“I have half an hour until I see her. Dude, I’m freaking out!”

“I gathered that much. Why?”

“What if I’m not a good father? What if I turn out like my dad?” he asks, pacing and looking at him with a worried expression.

“Impossible. You are the most caring person I’ve ever met, there is _no way_ you’re going to be like your dad. You know why?” Scott denies with his head, looking at the floor. “Because the fact that you are thinking about it, and that you’re scared of it tells me that much, because I know you don’t want to be like that.”

“If I ever do something stupid, please smack me some sense.”

“It’ll be my pleasure. Besides, most people actually worry about this stuff _after_ the baby is born.”

“I know! It’s just, I can hear their heartbeat and it’s so, so fast, it worries me.”

“That’s so cool! But it’s going to be fast for a few months, buddy. You need to read how a baby is formed inside the womb. Now, come on. You need to pick up your mom, go!”

“Thank you, Stiles.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the best.”

*

“What should we do today, that your sister and her boyfriend aren’t around?”

“Isaac is your friend too.”

“Yeah, but Cora is the one that scares me the most.”

“Still not a reason to not say his name.”

“Shush. What are we doing today? I’m not in the mood for movies.”

“I’ve been craving ice cream since I woke up…”

“Ice cream it is!”

*

“Hey, buddy! How was it?”

“She’s so tiny!” Scott says, dopey smile on his face.

“It’s a girl!? Oh my god, she’s gonna be so beautiful! I hope she looks like her mother.” Stiles says with a smirk on his face.

“Don’t be a jerk. But I hope she looks like Malia, too. Or like my mother. Never like Peter, oh my god.”

“Don’t say it or even think it. Don’t make the universe get back at you.”

“You’re right.” Scott says, worried frown on his face.

“Stop thinking about it!”

“I’m trying!” Stiles laughs, and Scott looks betrayed at his mocking. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“It’s just something that’s been bothering me for a few weeks.”

“What is it?”

“Lydia and Malia said that Derek and I flirt with each other and there is sexual tension. Stupid and totally out of the blue, right?” Stiles says, and he snorts.

“… Well, there _is_ flirting.” Scott answers, hand on his chin.

“What? No, there’s not!”

“Dude, you two flirt with each other all the time. It’s like playful banter. If I wasn’t a werewolf I would have totally believed you were banging. But neither of you smell like sex with each other. Or sex for that matter.”

“Thank you for reminding me that I haven’t had sex in a while.”

“Not what I meant.”

“But it’s just because we’re friends! I act like that with you.”

“It’s different.”

“How.”

“Well, you’re not as physical with Derek as you are with me. There’s always like, 10 cm between you two whenever you’re together, but between those 10 cm there’s like, this energy that feels like you’re pulling each other in. And, I think besides Lydia, Derek is the only one who can retort all your mean comments without any of you getting offended. And the eye fucking, god.”

“There’s no eye fucking.”

“There so is! You guys stare into each other’s eyes so much! And when the other one isn’t looking, is like you’re trying to get the other naked with just your eyes. It’s uncomfortable for us, the ones with heightened senses!”

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not and you know it.”

*

Derek pauses the movie and stands up, going straight to the kitchen and opening the fridge, taking the orange juice out and pouring some on his glass.

“What is it with you today?” he asks, after taking a sip.

“Huh?” Stiles looks at him confused.

“What is it with you today,” he repeats. “You’ve been spacing out a lot lately, and I know you’re a diehard fan of this movie. What is it?”

“I’m just thinking.”

“Nothing new.”

“Shut up.”

“No, but seriously, Stiles. What happened?”

“I’m just putting too much thought into something Scott, Lydia and Malia said.”

“So, your best friend and your two exes told you something.”

“Yeah…”

“About?”

“Some relationship advice.”

“Didn’t know you were in a relationship.”

“I’m not. It’s that they think I should be in a relationship with this person.”

“Do _you_ think so?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmmm…”

Derek walks to the living room again and sits beside Stiles, putting his orange juice on the coffee table and restarting the movie again. Fifteen minutes later, Stiles is fidgeting and puts pause to the movie, Derek looks at him expectantly.

“Have you ever thought about us? Dating?”

“No. Have you?” and Derek sounds sincerely curious. Not freaked out, like Stiles would have imagined.

“Right now, I am.”

“And?”

“I think we would be good as a couple.” Stiles looks at him in the eyes, trying to find a single drop of mocking, insecurity or _anything_ that tells him that he needs to play this like a joke. Instead, Derek’s eyes are thoughtful and curious.

This is why he likes Derek. There aren’t big emotions going around when the mood is serious, they just handle it and _talk_.

“How so? Tell me.”

“Well… I mean, I’ve thought about what Scott thinks, so…”

“What does Scott think?”

“He thinks that we have this companionship that is great, and that we flirt a lot, some sexual tension too. And that we stare at each other too much it’s uncomfortable.”

“We stare at each other?”

“That’s what I thought. I mean, if I think about it, I can see where they come from, you know? Like, we do spend a lot of time together. Scott stopped asking me to meet each other on Fridays.”

“That’s out movie night.”

“Yeah, he thinks it’s our _date_ night, because we don’t only watch movies but go to restaurants, or ice cream parlors, or cafes, or the park.”

“If you put it that way, it does sound like date nights.”

“Yeah… I don’t know, Der. I have the key to your apartment, you have the key to my apartment. We have date nights. We talk a lot and understand each other really well. I think we could be great.”

“You’re right. But there are things we don’t have.”

“Like the kissing and the sex part.”

“Yeah, and that I’ve never been with a guy.”

“But you’re ok with this? With me?”

“Sure. I mean, wolves aren’t raised to be restrictive towards instincts. If you like girls, that’s good, if you like boys, that’s good too.”

“And you’ve never like a guy before?”

“Not the way I feel with you.” He answers, and Stiles looks at him for a few seconds with his mouth open, lowing his head and looking at his hands. “You’re embarrassed,” Derek continues, smirking.

“Of course I’m embarrassed! You can’t tell people those kinds of things!”

“Sure I can. I trust you, Stiles. And no one has made me feel like that in a long time.”

“Stop it!” Stiles complains, putting his hands on his face.

Stiles feels Derek’s hands on his’, trying to grab them and to take them away from his face. Stiles lets him handle his hands, and when he opens his eyes, Derek’s face is right in front of him and he can’t help but stare into his eyes.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” Derek mumbles, almost audible.

“Ok…” Stiles whispers, and he closes his eyes as Derek kisses him.

There’s a first press of lips, soft and almost there. Derek has his hands cupping Stiles’ face while Stiles’ covers them with his own hands. They look at each other in the eyes again, and there’s a soft “why did you stop”, that Stiles feels almost proud of because it sounds rusty and not at all needy. Derek lets a soft chuckle and kisses him again with a little smile, and Stiles feels his chest constrict and his eyes water. They smile between kisses and when Stiles is able to look at Derek again within a proper distance, he can see that Derek’s eyes are watering too.

“We’re such saps,” Stiles says, big smile playing on his lips.

“We are.”

*

“I see you’ve finally resolved your UST with Derek,” Lydia comments, glass of wine on her hand. “I always liked the two of you together.”

“Really?” Stiles asks, looking at her directly and not at Cora and Isaac.

“Yeah. Even when we were in a relationship. You two had this playful thing when you were telling stories about each other. It was really joyful to watch.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed looking at us telling lies.”

“You were lying?”

“For the most part of it. There were rescues and fighting but it wasn’t all that adventurous. We almost died more than once.”

“Stop telling people about our secrets.” Derek tells him, sitting besides Stiles and giving him a peck on his lips. “Hey, Lydia. You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you. You look ravishing as well, Derek. How are you handling that your little sister got engaged?”

“Oh my god, don’t get him started.”

“It was all Stiles’ fault!”

“There you go. You listen to him, I’m going to congratulate the lovebirds again.”

As Stiles walks away from the table and into the dancing floor, he turns around to see Lydia laughing at Derek making threatening faces and probably saying again what he said to Isaac that first time he tried to be interested in Cora. His heart skips a beat when he sees Derek smiling too, and he softens his look. Derek looks at him with a wondering look but Stiles just smiles at him and mouths:

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Derek mouths back.

Lydia rolls her eyes, making Derek turn to her and Stiles to continue his path to the recently engaged couple, laughing off the comments about when is he going to propose to Derek, and wondering if his dad still has that velvety box he gave him to save until the right time.


End file.
